David T. Ralston, Jr. is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Foley & Lardner LLP where his practice focuses on rail and air transportation; government contract litigation and counseling; national and homeland security.
Mr. Ralston has handled virtually all aspects of government contracts, including bid and small business size protests, claims, defective pricing, intellectual property, qui tam litigation, and Cost Accounting Standards matters. He has successfully defended government contractors against fraud and bribery charges, including coordinating corporate investigations, voluntary disclosures to the Justice and Defense Departments, and represented firms in debarment/suspension proceedings at numerous federal agencies. Mr. Ralston frequently lectures and writes on government contracts matters. His most recent publication is "The Foley & Lardner Guide to Federal Procurement Protests (second edition)," available at www.foley.com/procurementprotest, which will soon be published as part of "Inside The Minds: The Impact of Recent Changes in Government Contracts," Aspatore Books, 2011.
In rail transportation, Mr. Ralston represents a leading Class I railroad, a major commuter rail carrier and shortline railroads on federal regulatory, legislative and compliance matters. In aviation, he has represented and advised a number of major U.S. airports on federal regulatory and grant assurance requirements, particularly in the security arena, and serves as vice-chair of the Federal Bar Association's Transportation and Transportation Security Law Committee.
Mr. Ralston has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system. In 2011, he was named one of America's Leading Lawyers in the area of government contacts by Chambers USA, and in 2010 Legal 500 cited him for his knowledge of government contracts issues and client availability.
In recent years, Mr. Ralston has been particularly active in contracts claims resolution, and matters concerning US domestic content laws, such as the Buy American Act, the Berry Amendment, the Trade Agreements Act, and international trade areas. He has also been active in matters where government contracts and intellectual property issues intersect, having led multi-year litigation opposing Department of Defense efforts to compete with the private sector in publishing military standards and specifications over the Internet. In 2011, he presented to European procurement leaders at the EU Parliament in Brussels on US perspectives concerning innovation in government procurement during the ScienceIBusiness Policy Bridge conference Power of the Purse: Can Europe use procurement power to stimulate innovation?
Virginia Governors George Allen and James Gilmore appointed Mr. Ralston to the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. He was elected as chairman of the board from 1997-2000, and has served as vice-chairman and chair of several committees. In 2010, Governor Robert McDonnell appointed him to the board of trustees of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a non-partisan public policy think tank focused on advancing effective economic development policies in 13 Southern states.
From 1980 to 1984, Mr. Ralston served on active duty with the U.S. Army as a prosecutor and appellate attorney, handling over 100 courts-martial, including more than 30 contested cases. From 1984 to 1994, he served as a military judge in the U.S. Army Reserves.
A law graduate of Georgetown University (J.D., 1979, cum laude), Mr. Ralston received his B.S.F.S. degree from Georgetown University - School of Foreign Service (1976). He is a graduate of the Army War College National Security Seminar (2007).
Mr. Ralston is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia and New York, and served from 2008-2011 on the Litigation Section Committee of the D.C. Bar. He is vice-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association's Government Contracts and Construction Law Committee and the Federal Bar Association's Transportation and Transportation Security Law Committee. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Armed Forces, the Federal, Fourth, Sixth and District of Columbia Circuits. He is also admitted before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, the District of Columbia, the District of Maryland, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.